If your dog may bite someone and you’re not sure what training to do, learn more about BAT. Behavior Adjustment Training can make your muzzle obsolete.

Definitely follow his sage advice to put the muzzle on at times that are pleasant to the dog, or you will end up undoing all of your work to get the dog to like the muzzle. Dogs are great at making assocations.

“My golden-doodle is incredibly sweet and wouldn’t hurt a fly but when she sees someone outside, whether she knows them or not, she barks like she wants to rip their head off. If she could speak english, what would she be saying?”

My answer:

Thank Dog they don’t speak English. I think dogs would just tell us how silly and boring we are. But it would help keep humans from making dumb mistakes, like patting dogs on the top of the head, as if they liked it. I would LOVE to be able to explain a few things to my dogs, though!

Your dog is probably simultaneously shouting “Intruder!” to the folks in the house and “Go Away!” to the people approaching. You’ll probably hear a change in pitch once she recognizes the people, getting higher when she realizes it’s a friend, not a foe, out the window.

The bigger question is, why are you training your dog to bark like that? Ditch the perch – close blinds (Roman shades that open from the bottom are great), move the furniture, whatever it takes to keep her from feeling like she has to guard the house all day. She’ll relax more and probably live longer. Stress kills.

If she’s still young, under 2 or 3, be careful. This can be the start of a bigger problem, like biting people at the door. You might think about getting a trainer or behaviorist in to help – not one that will use pain or intimidation to correct the barking, but one who teaches her what *to* do, using reinforcement.

It could also be just what it already is, annoying. Many, many dogs bark at things they see outside. But it’s definitely fixable!

Related Link: Private dog training in Seattle

*****

I was looking at your meetup group and I thought you all might be interested in something that is going on next Wednesday, June 30th, in Seattle. At Hotel Monaco in Seattle, we are holding auditions for a TV show called “Tales for the Pet Lover’s Heart.” We are looking for people who are passionate about their pets to come and audition for 10 minutes (with their pet) and tell us a little bit about themselves and their pets.

The auditions will go from 10-6, but you only need to sign up for a 10 minute time slot. If anyone is interested in doing this please email me back at Mallory.morehead@gmail.com

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Sincerely,
Mallory Morehead

******
Looks like fun! Download the Flier.

Click here the full information on this Friday’s seminar.

Click here to see our whole list of upcoming seminars in Seattle (BAT in June and Sept, Kathy Sdao in July, Patricia McConnell in September).

Click here to see our list of upcoming BAT seminars around the country.

Learn more about how to teach your dog to stay in one of our classes. If you aren’t in the Seattle area, look up a dog-friendly dog trainer on the APDT website.

Notice that while I trained my dog to heel and walk on a loose leash using treats and toys, we don’t need them any more. Walking on a loose leash is his default behavior when on leash. Continuing to walk forward is the treat for loose leash walking and permission to do loose leash walking again is the treat for heel.

Learn more about how to teach your dog to walk nicely in one of our classes or specifically in the Leash Walking workshop (next one is May 9th, but we schedule them about once a month). If you aren’t in the Seattle area, look up a dog-friendly dog trainer on the APDT website or check out our blog post on Leash Walking.

One of our students is Poppyseed, a deaf Dalmation, pictured on the left in her Puppy Jr. High class a while back. She is going to be in the book. A veterinarian and another dog training school told Poppyseed’s human to put her down when she was just a puppy, advising that deaf dogs were just too dangerous. Fortunately, her human didn’t listen to that advice and Poppyseed joined our puppy class. She excelled with her training at Ahimsa and we are glad she’s still walking the Earth with all four happy feet!

So please join us at the party! Stop by with or without your dog for fun, games, puppy play, and light snacks for people and dogs. Friday, April 30th, 5-8 pm at 902 NW 49th Street in Seattle. p.s. Pass it on!

Not necessarily. Here are some other reasons:

1. Not walking away after the marker signal + “let’s go” may just may mean that the magnet is too strong. You can sort of think of a magnetic pull between your dog and the trigger. If they get too close, they need to charge in and make the scary thing go away. If they are just a little too close, they may be stuck, wanting to go, but afraid that if they turn their back, the other dog will bite them in the rear. So you either just wait until the magnet weakens, or you abort the trial (call your dog away) and then do the next trial at a better distance, maybe 5 or 10 feet further away from the trigger.
2. Your dog may not be “done” yet. By that, I mean that they are still gathering information, and walking away is not what they want at that exact moment. We need to teach them to gather info quickly and make good decisions, so it’s critical that we let them sniff and look when they do it. Not being able to go without getting info is really common with dogs who are not fearful, but rather protective or in some other way wanting the other dog or person to go away, rather than just fearing for their own lives. So they need more information before they can safely go away. Signs to look for: body relaxes, head turns away (toward handler, away, toward the ground, whatever).

Here’s a video clip of what “done” looks like. You’ll see this trial twice. So first, the German Shepherd (Panzer) will turn his head a little, and also give a lip-lick. This is great to reward, but he is NOT necessarily done at this point. If you are just getting your dog started on BAT, then you can and should reward small head turns – but only if they will come away with you. If they won’t then just praise and wait for the dog to be done (and possibly work farther away to decrease the power of the magnet). Panzer’s second head turn is when he’s really Done with the interaction. You can see a decision has been made. The first run-through of the clip is at regular speed, the second is slow motion.

When I first did BAT with my dog, Sagan, getting her to go away when I said “Yes! Let’s go” was really hard. We were more successful with doing her retreats at an angle, so she could keep an eye on the dog as she retreated, but then my timing got better on the walk-aways and now we can easily do a direct retreat. I began to just praise her for the little stuff and reward only when she was done. After all, it’s not a Functional Reward if the dog doesn’t want it! If they aren’t ready to go yet, they aren’t ready to go. I also threw in the occasional bonus reward (treat) for walking away, to help increase the value of going away with me.

Now, even when the dogs aren’t “done,” they do actually seem to have a decrease in stress if we call them away. But it’s just not as rewarding as a full functional reward. So at times when I want to reward her for something and I know that if I just wait her out, it could go badly (like a close-up greeting) then I will call her away using my recall cue (Come) and give her a treat as a bonus reward.

Comments? Questions? Click here for more info on BAT.

* Party! Don’t forget that you are invited to our Grand Expansion Party next Friday.

Our party is next Friday, April 30th, 5-8 pm. All of our staff will be there to have fun! Come by any time throughout the party, with or without your dog – remember, not all dogs want to be at parties, even fun ones like ours. We will have free puppy play time during the whole party (20 minute limit if another dog is waiting to play), plus demos, games, door prizes, some displays by rescue groups, and more! This expansion just about coincides with our 7th anniversary. Wow!

Please forward this message on to your dog-loving friends! If you are part of a non-profit and want to display your group’s info, just let me know. Dog walkers, vets, stores, groomers, etc.: we do have a bulletin board now and can display your materials, too, if we feel confident referring to your business.

Want to stop by the new store with less hullabaloo? Our regular store hours are below:

Monday – 10 am – 9 pm
Tuesday – Thursday 5-9 pm
Saturday 9-7:30 pm
Sunday 9:30-7:30 pm
The store is at the same location as the training center, but on the south side of the building, on 9th itself. Thanks for all of the food suggestions. We have decided to not offer dog food or products that a lot of the great local stores already offer, but rather to concentrate on dog training supplies. That means we have training books, DVDs, harnesses, treats, food puzzles, life-sized stuffed dogs, and fun training gear like a remote control treat dispenser. We do sell some smaller bags of Evo to use as treats.

* Dog Aggression & Fear seminar May 28th, 6:30-8:30 pm

I just added this to the schedule yesterday, and 5 people have already registered! Sign up for this seminar if you are a trainer (or want to be), a dog walker, vet, a regular person that’s interested in dog behavior, or a student that attended Growly Dog class before we started doing BAT (Behavior Adjustment Training). This is a fairly high-level seminar, but it should be helpful for all who attend. BAT is a technique I developed to help dogs gain confidence and social skills. I will be showing video, discussing the technique, and demonstrating it live with a reactive dog. Sign up for this workshop or our other ones with Kathy Sdao and Patricia McConnell at http://doggiezen.com/workshop

* Backyard Sports & Games

This class is designed to be mostly for fun, but it also helps you and your dog become a team, using a combination of backyard agility, dog dancing, nose work/tracking, tricks, and games. This is a great way to see if your dog would enjoy one of these sports. It’s not meant for hard-core search and rescue folks or world-class agility & competitors. It’s meant as a way to expand your dog’s mind and a chance for you to have some more fun training.

Our Sunday classes are full, so we added Wednesday nights at 8 and we will probably add a daytime class start in mid-May, most likely Mondays at 1 pm. The schedule/info is at http://doggiezen.com/dreamdog/sports.php or if you’re already signed up for Dream Dog, you can log in to swap in for some of those sessions. The fun and games classes are pretty popular, so dropping in can be difficult.

* Take a fun break – watch us training puppies on King 5

If you haven’t seen us train puppies on TV yet, watch it on the home page at http://doggiezen.com In the video, I demonstrate how to teach Touch, use touch as a recall cue (come), and how to start work on heeling.

p.s. Puppy folks – I just added some more Puppy Jr. High classes, at http://ahimsadogtraining.com/class/puppy-junior-high.php Just a warning – these are popular classes and they fill quickly, so sign up when you get a chance.

Only good things,
Grisha

April 30, 5:00pm-8:00 pm, 902 NW 49th Street in Seattle. (free on-street parking available)

Bring your dog or come by yourself to check out our hand-picked items for training your dogs. We only stock gear that we personally love, and that means they are useful, entertaining, tough, and generally good for the planet whenever possible.

We will have many essential products, but you’ll still get to shop at your favorite independent pet stores for food and other non-training items. Our niche is to provide excellent dog training products, including great books, treats, leashes, etc.. We won’t replace your regular store, but we’re still worth the visit!

During the party, puppies under 5 months that play well with others can enjoy a free play time refereed by one of Ahimsa’s certified dog trainers. Depending on the dogs in attendance, there *might* also be a chance for off leash play for adult dogs, too.

Trainers will be available to give problem solving and training tips, and there are some fun activities planned, too!

We’ll be adding more details to this page as we get closer. No RSVP necessary, but the play groups are limited to 8 puppies/dogs at a time, so when you arrive to the party, put your puppy on the play list!

See you there!

Here’s their info, from http://www.furry5k.com:

The Seattle Animal Shelter is pleased to present the 11th Annual Furry 5K Fun Run and Walk! The race, which will take place in Seattle’s Seward Park on Sunday, June 20th, 2010, raises money for the Help the Animals Fund.

Join the fun as thousands of people run and walk, with their friends, families, kids and of course their dogs, in order to raise money for injured and abused orphaned animals.

We will definitely have a booth and we *might* have a walking team. Let me know if you are interested in walking as an Ahimsa team!

Hopefully I will have access to a video that I can post here in the blog.

• Kathy Sdao is a behaviorist and a scientist with decades of experience, but you wouldn’t know it by the energy she puts into all of her talks.  She has a great way of explaining difficult concepts so that we all understand.  Kathy is doing a relatively new kind of workshop in Seattle this summer, which we’re calling “Kathy Sdao Unplugged” – it’s a place for trainers and advanced folks to bring their dogs, get practice, and solve those tricky challenges with your own dogs. We have working and auditing spots.  You can get more info or register now for the July 15-16 workshop.
• In September, we have a whole weekend devoted to fear, aggression, and play in dogs. I’ll be starting out the weekend with a 1-day presentation on Behavior Adjustment Training, or BAT.  It’s a technique I developed that has had some really fabulous results with client dogs and my own dogs, too.  People around the world are trying it and giving great feedback on their dog’s new-found ability to function like a regular dog!  On the second day, Patricia McConnell will fly into Seattle and rock our world with her great info on dog play and aggression. I’m absolutely thrilled to have Dr. McConnell, author of countless dog books, come to Seattle. She’s one of my all-time favorite dog behavior heroes. Can you tell?  You can get more info or register now for the September 11-12 workshop.

I’ve been busy adding more classes for you to our schedule this week. We have new Puppy Jr. High, Growly Dog classes, Puppy Kindergarten, play times, and Advanced Manners classes. Because of the 2nd training room, you can take classes at even more convenient times, including weekend mornings. Those have been reserved for puppies for the last several years, because we want the room to be pristine. Now the adult dogs can use their own room in the morning. Yay!

We also added 5 new weekly Puppy Kindergarten classes, for a total of 15, including a third class for baby puppies (under 12 weeks). Puppy class sizes will now be limited to 8 instead of 10.

We are also pondering a Backyard Sports class with Freestyle and Agility and a Problem Solving class in which you have time to ask a trainer for help with particular problems you are having. Let me know if you are interested in either of those.

We’ll have a North and South classrooms. The North entrance is the one we’ve already been using and the South entrance will be the door on the south side of the building (on NW 49th St) that many people already thought was our door. That will be the entrance to the little store, and students will just walk through that to get to the South classroom.

Yes, that’s right – we’ll have a little store, with some high quality food, toys, treats, and other products. Store hours will match the training classes, plus a few choice other times. That means more speedy shipping for our online friends and the ability to get great stuff from Ahimsa if you are in Seattle. The store should open up in April.

If you have a minute to fill out a quick survey, it would be very helpful to us! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZBQRXG2

This is not an exchange or trade, it’s a repair. You can have them fix up to two (2) harness straps. Here’s the info:

Wiggles Wags & Whiskers
Attn: Harness Repair
1405-C Babbage Lane
Indian Trail, NC 28079

Please be sure to include the following information:
Name
Address
Phone Number
and a $5.00 Check to cover return shipping and handling.

Wiggles, Wags, & Whiskers is very proud to offer their chewed harness warranty as it brings lots of customer satisfaction. It only takes a few days to fix the chewed harness and it is promptly returned to the customer’s address.

Note: this does not apply to harnesses from any other brand, including the Easy Walk harness. In fact, I don’t know if anybody else has such a great warranty. If you have one of those that’s chewed, you can try having REI repair it, or buy a new harness, like the Freedom harness.

So I barreled over there in my car and slammed on the brakes beside her.  “Can you please stop hitting that puppy?” She looked up, slightly embarrassed, and tried to excuse the hitting, since the puppy had just jumped up and bitten her child.  I told her that there were lots of great ways to get the puppy to stop biting, and I’d love to show her.  But of course, it’s hard to be receptive when a perfect stranger comes and criticizes you from their car window, so she politely walked off. At least she didn’t yell at me.

Was my request enough? I didn’t have time to mention that her puppy is not a bad dog, that almost all puppies bite, and that if she keeps hitting her dog, her child will probably do the same, and she’d end up with a real bite instead of a puppy bite. 

I’m terrified for that puppy and the family, but I think she may have been one of our new students, so there’s hope. I recognized the Freedom harness that we sell at Ahimsa.  The puppy was young enough that she’d probably gone to only one class.  Maybe she hadn’t watched the videos that were emailed to her about biting. Maybe she just needs to be shown what to do. Our trainers will hopefully have a chance to convince her that there are better ways to keep dogs from biting kids. For starters, we teach bite inhibition, Leave It, Touch, tiring out the puppy with exercise, having kids play with dog by dragging toys on ropes so they’re further away, and teaching kids to Be a Tree (fold “branches” – arms – and turn away), among other tools.

Sigh.  I hope this puppy’s family comes around. I hope you don’t train using intimidation with hands, collars, or shock, and if you do, please stop hitting that puppy!

When: Saturday, February 20th, 2-4 p.m.

Who: Shy/fearful/standoffish puppies (15 spots) and regular puppies (5 spots). They can be shy around dogs, people, or both. Puppies must be current on vaccinations (not necessarily finished) & 2-5 months old. No professional dog trainers, please.

How much: Free if you bring a puppy, $15/person if you leave your puppy at home. All attendees must give permission to use footage of dogs.

Where: Seattlle, Magnuson Park Activities Center (the ‘Brig Building’), View Ridge Room

Click here to learn more or sign up!

Can you spread the word? Please Tweet or Facebook this, or if you’re going to visit a pet store, coffee shop, or dog park in Seattle in the next week, print this out and post it: Flier for Puppy video shoot. Thank you!

Tawzer Dog Videos filmed my 90-minute Behavior Adjustment Training seminar in Novato last month, and it’s now available for sale in our online store (click here). We ship orders out on Fridays only, so if you’re looking to get it as soon as possible, then get it from the Tawzer website, when it becomes available.

Here are some clips from the intro of that seminar:

(if that doesn’t work for you, you can view it on YouTube).

We should get copies on Thursday, February 11th, so orders placed this week will *probably* go out on Friday.